South Africa head coach Hugo Broos says his team is fully ready for face Nigeria in the semi-final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast.
The Bafana Bafana progressed to the last four of the competition after a thrilling penalty shootout win over Cape Verde on Saturday night, after full time and extra time ended goalless.
“When we got to the penalty shootout, it was a special thing for the players, because during training they were scoring them. When we have a goalkeeper who stops 4 penalty kicks, this is not luck but a lot of hard work,”Broos said.
“Not many people in South Africa believed in this team, but we believed in it, and the players believed in themselves as well. Reaching the semi-finals is in itself a good thing for South African football.
The semi-final match will be different against Nigeria, which has good players like Lookman. We will not lose focus. The players will be in good condition, so we need to rest and recover to start our preparation”.
After beating pre-tournament favourites Morocco in the Round of 16, Broos seems to be finding the same ingredients which saw him win the AFCON with Cameroon in 2019.
The encounter will go down at the Stade de la Paix, Bouake on Wednesday at 6pm Nigeria time.
